For 20 years or more, there has been concern about increasing hunting pressure and decreasing hunting land. The U. S. Department of Agriculture has attempted to lessen this problem and decrease surpluses of farm products at the same time by subsidizing conversion of agricultural land to recreation land. Recreation is booming. Boaters, fishermen and water skiiers are crowding lakes faster than the Corps of Engineers can build them. New bowling alleys were built in nearly every town of any size, and cowpastures are being turned into golf courses every month. Hunters, though, are decreasing. After the first few days of the season, it is hard to find enough hunters for our biological samples in Kentucky. Even the public hunting areas are often deserted. We have fewer hunters than we had nine years ago. Our income from game is only about five percent higher than it was in 1957. Since the wildlife profession exists primarily to serve hunters, this is a disturbing situation. The status of hunting is becoming more and more like that of the whooping crane. It's being crowded onto special reservations.
